Archive for the ‘soup’ Category

Welcome to my friends from canasis.com, where I love to play canasta. I have made some very good friends from that site. Please leave me a message and let me know you were here!! Special welcome to Susie and Gjams from the land down under, far away Australia. No matter where you live, you have to eat!

I LOVE to go to the Olive Garden for lunch for unlimited soup and salad. I have played around with this soup recipe for quite some time, and think it’s about as close as I can get to Olive Garden soup. My husband is Italian, so this is a big hit.

The salad is not what they serve at Olive Garden but has become a hit with my family and guests. It is light and low-cal and very tasty!!

Enjoy this wintertime warm up meal. It’s only February, more cold weather is on the way.. We might as well get through it eating well!

I just KNOW these photos (taken at my house) will entice you to move to Ohio (if you are training for the next winter Olympics, that is!!) At any rate, it will put you in the mood for soup! This recipe is dedicated to my friend Victor whom we lovingly call Mr Pasta Fazzoooooli!

Pasta Fagioli

1 lb ground beef or beef chunks, cut up small

2 stalks celery chopped

1 large onion chopped

3 cloves garlic minced

1-1/2 cups shredded carrots

2 teas dried parsley

1 teas. Italian seasoning

1/4 teas crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

1 teas. oregano

1/2 teas. chili powder

salt to taste

1 -14.5 can chicken broth

2 cans of chopped tomatoes with juice (break up with hands)

1- 8 oz can tomato sauce

1/2 cup uncooked macaroni

1 – 15 oz can of cannellini beans or great northern beans with liquid

8 strips of bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled

—–> In a large saucepan over medium heat, brown and cook bacon and beef. Drain. In a different saucepan, cook celery, onion, carrots and all spices in a bit of olive oil till veggies are soft. Stir in chicken broth, tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef and bacon and simmer on low 15 to 20 minutes. Add pasta and cook 10 minutes, until pasta is tender. Add undrained beans. Mix well and heat through. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

—–> In a large bowl, zest 2 lemons. Cut lemons in half and juice them into bowl. (HINT: for extracting more juice – pop lemons in microwave for 15 seconds before cutting open). Add onion powder, garlic powder and Parmesan cheese. Whisk in olive oil. Stop every little bit to taste. If dressing it still too tart, add more olive oil. Chop and drop all salad ingredients on top of dressing. Toss, right before serving. Sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese.